JP2016045709A - Vehicle controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle controller, capable of reliably and properly recognizing a third vehicle which has entered a travel lane on which the self-vehicle equipped with the vehicle controller is traveling as a new preceding vehicle.SOLUTION: A vehicle controller 20 comprises: a preceding vehicle lock-on part 23 for locking on a vehicle travelling in front of the self-vehicle equipped with the vehicle controller as a preceding vehicle; a preceding vehicle tracking travel control part 26 for controlling travel of the self-vehicle so as to track and travel while holding a predetermined distance with respect to the locked-on preceding vehicle; an interruption determination part 28 for determining whether or not, a third vehicle has interrupted between the locked-on preceding vehicle and the self-vehicle; and a self-vehicle estimation path calculation part 27 for estimating a path which is calculated by connecting the preceding vehicle and the self-vehicle with a predetermined curve, as a self-vehicle estimation path being a self-vehicle prediction path. The interruption determination part 28 determines that the third vehicle has interrupted between the preceding vehicle and the self-vehicle, when a lap rate of the self-vehicle estimation path calculated by the self-vehicle estimation path calculation part 27 and the third vehicle in the vehicle width direction is larger than a determination value.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle control device.

  As one type of vehicle control device, one disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. As shown in Patent Document 1, the vehicle control device changes the width of the control target determination region by monitoring the lateral relative speed A, the traveling direction relative speed B of the detected object, or the driver's deceleration intention P. Is controlling. As a result, it is possible to reliably determine the preceding vehicle that is in front of the host vehicle as the control target, and to accurately perform the inter-vehicle distance control on the control target. Further, as shown in FIG. 3 of Patent Document 1, the travel locus estimation means M1 of the vehicle control device is based on the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 11 and the yaw rate detected by the yaw rate sensor 12, and the future travel locus of the own vehicle. T is estimated. That is, since the turning radius R of the vehicle can be calculated from the current vehicle speed and the yaw rate, the future traveling locus T of the own vehicle can be estimated by connecting the arc of the turning radius R in the current traveling direction of the own vehicle. .

JP 2006-133958 A

  The vehicle control apparatus described in Patent Document 1 described above estimates the future travel locus T of the host vehicle based on the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 11 and the yaw rate detected by the yaw rate sensor 12. Therefore, when the host vehicle is traveling along the straight line but the preceding vehicle enters the curved part ahead of the straight line, both the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle are traveling along the curved part, When the curvature of each curve part is different, there is a problem that the future travel locus of the vehicle and the preceding vehicle will be misaligned, and the third vehicle that entered the vehicle traveling lane cannot be recognized as a new preceding vehicle. .

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and it is an object of the vehicle control device to accurately and reliably recognize the third vehicle that has entered the host vehicle lane as a new preceding vehicle.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the invention of the vehicle control device according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a preceding vehicle lock-on unit that locks on a vehicle traveling in front of the host vehicle as a preceding vehicle, and a preceding vehicle lock-on unit A preceding vehicle following travel control unit that controls the traveling of the host vehicle so as to follow the vehicle while maintaining a predetermined distance with respect to the preceding vehicle that is turned on, and the preceding vehicle and the host vehicle that are locked on by the preceding vehicle lock-on unit An interrupt determination unit that determines whether or not a third vehicle has interrupted between the vehicle and a route calculated by connecting the preceding vehicle and the host vehicle with a predetermined curve. A vehicle estimated route calculation unit that estimates and calculates a vehicle estimated route that is a predicted route of the vehicle, and the interrupt determination unit includes a vehicle between the vehicle estimated route calculated by the vehicle estimated route calculation unit and the third vehicle. Lap rate in the width direction is larger than the judgment value If, it is that the third vehicle is determined interrupted between the preceding vehicle and the subject vehicle.

  According to this, the own vehicle estimated route calculation unit can accurately estimate the own vehicle estimated route from each position of the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle currently recognized. Further, the interrupt determination unit can accurately determine that the third vehicle has interrupted between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle from the estimated (calculated) own vehicle estimated route and the third vehicle. Therefore, the vehicle control device can accurately and reliably recognize the third vehicle that has entered the vehicle lane as a new preceding vehicle.

It is a block diagram which shows one Embodiment of the vehicle control apparatus by this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the lane change determination part shown in FIG. It is a figure where the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle are traveling in the same straight lane. It is a figure which shows the state from which the preceding vehicle deviated from the same straight lane as the own vehicle. It is a figure explaining determination of whether the preceding vehicle changed the lane from the same straight lane as the own vehicle. It is a figure for demonstrating calculation of the own vehicle estimated path | route in case a predetermined curve is a circular arc curve. It is a flowchart of the control program performed with the vehicle control apparatus shown in FIG. The preceding vehicle and the host vehicle travel on the same lane (change from a straight road to a curved road), the third car travels on the adjacent lane, and the third car does not interrupt. It is a figure in which the preceding vehicle and the host vehicle travel on the same lane (change from a straight road to a curved road), the third vehicle travels on the adjacent lane, and the third vehicle is interrupted.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment to which a vehicle control device according to the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle M includes a front sensor 11, a vehicle speed sensor 12, a yaw rate sensor 13, an operation unit 14, a storage device 15, a GPS receiver 16, a vehicle drive device 17, a vehicle braking device 18, and a vehicle control device. 20 is provided.

  The front sensor 11 is a sensor that detects forward information of the host vehicle, that is, a sensor that detects a vehicle traveling in front of the host vehicle. The front sensor 11 includes, for example, a scan radar using millimeter waves, a scan laser radar using a semiconductor laser, a CCD camera, or the like. From the detection signal of the front sensor 11, an inter-vehicle distance from the host vehicle to the target, a relative movement speed, and the like can be calculated.

The vehicle speed sensor 12 is a sensor that detects the vehicle speed of the host vehicle. The vehicle speed sensor 12 includes, for example, a wheel speed sensor that detects a wheel speed that is a wheel speed of the vehicle M, and a vehicle speed sensor that detects a rotation speed of the output shaft of the vehicle drive device 17.
The yaw rate sensor 13 is a sensor that detects the yaw rate of the vehicle M. The yaw rate of the vehicle M is the speed at which the yaw angle changes, and is the rotational angular velocity about the vertical axis that passes through the center of gravity of the vehicle M.

The operation unit 14 includes an ACC (adaptive cruise control) on / off switch, an inter-vehicle distance setting switch, and the like. The ACC on / off switch is a switch for starting and stopping ACC control. The inter-vehicle distance setting switch is a switch for setting the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle under ACC control and the host vehicle, and has a plurality of settings corresponding to a plurality of distances. In the ACC control, the distance between the preceding vehicle and the preceding vehicle is kept constant, that is, the traveling of the own vehicle is controlled so as to follow the vehicle while maintaining a predetermined distance from the preceding vehicle. The ACC control also includes cruise control for controlling the traveling of the host vehicle so as to keep the host vehicle speed constant at a set speed (set speed).
The storage device 15 can communicate with the vehicle control device 20 and stores processing results and the like processed by the vehicle control device 20. A GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver 16 receives signals from several satellites in the sky. The vehicle control device 20 can detect the current position of the host vehicle from the signal received by the GPS receiver 16.

  The vehicle drive device 17 drives the vehicle M to run. The vehicle drive device 17 drives the drive wheels by a drive source such as an engine or a motor. The vehicle drive device 17 is configured to be able to automatically adjust the output of the engine and motor (vehicle drive force) regardless of whether the accelerator pedal is depressed.

  The vehicle braking device 18 brakes the vehicle M. The vehicle braking device 18 includes a brake actuator having an ABS or ESC function. The brake actuator is an actuator that can independently and automatically apply a braking force to each wheel regardless of whether or not the brake pedal is depressed.

The vehicle control device 20 includes a preceding vehicle search unit 21, a host vehicle predicted route calculation unit 22, a preceding vehicle lock-on unit 23, a lane change determination unit 24, a lost determination unit 25, a preceding vehicle following travel control unit 26, and a host vehicle estimated route. A calculation unit 27, an interrupt determination unit 28, and a preceding vehicle change unit 29 are provided.
The preceding vehicle search unit 21 searches (searches / detects) a vehicle traveling in front of the host vehicle (hereinafter also referred to as a forward traveling vehicle). Specifically, the preceding vehicle search unit 21 searches for a forward traveling vehicle based on the front information of the own vehicle acquired from the front sensor 11.

  The own vehicle predicted route calculation unit 22 predicts and calculates the travel route from the current vehicle position. Specifically, the host vehicle predicted route calculation unit 22 calculates the host vehicle predicted route based on the host vehicle speed acquired from the vehicle speed sensor 12 and the host vehicle yaw rate acquired from the yaw rate sensor 13. The own vehicle predicted route is a route on which the own vehicle is predicted to travel from a current vehicle position to a predetermined time ahead. The own vehicle predicted route is set along the traveling direction in which the own vehicle is predicted to travel. The width of the own vehicle predicted route is set to be approximately the same as the vehicle width (for example, 2 m).

  The preceding vehicle lock-on unit 23 locks on a vehicle traveling in front of the host vehicle as a preceding vehicle. Specifically, the preceding vehicle lock-on unit 23 includes information on the forward traveling vehicle acquired from the preceding vehicle search unit 21 (such as the inter-vehicle distance, the relative position with respect to the own vehicle, the center position of the preceding vehicle, etc.) By collating the information of the predicted vehicle route acquired from the predicted vehicle route calculation unit 22, the vehicle traveling on the predicted vehicle route among the forward traveling vehicles is locked on as a preceding vehicle. In other words, the preceding vehicle lock-on unit 23 locks on the vehicle that is closest to the host vehicle Ma among the forward traveling vehicles that are traveling on the predicted vehicle path as the preceding vehicle.

  The lane change determination unit 24 determines whether the preceding vehicle locked on by the preceding vehicle lock-on unit 23 or the own vehicle locked on by the preceding vehicle lock-on unit 23 has changed the lane. The lane change determination unit 24 determines that the preceding vehicle or the host vehicle has changed the lane when the deviation in the vehicle width direction between the locus of the preceding vehicle and the determination position of the host vehicle exceeds the determination value. In addition, the locus | trajectory of a preceding vehicle is a locus | trajectory of the preceding vehicle recognized by the front sensor 11 on the basis of the present position of the own vehicle. The determination position of the host vehicle is a host vehicle position for determining whether the preceding vehicle that is locked on or the host vehicle that is locked on has moved in the lane direction.

Further, the lane change determination unit 24 includes a preceding vehicle route departure determination unit 31, a preceding vehicle departure position storage unit 32, a vehicle width direction deviation calculation unit 33, and a comparison unit 34, for example, as shown in FIG.
The preceding vehicle route departure determination unit 31 determines whether or not the preceding vehicle has deviated from the own vehicle predicted route (preceding vehicle route departure determination). The preceding vehicle route deviation determination unit 31 determines that the vehicle has deviated if the lap rate in the vehicle width direction between the preceding vehicle and the host vehicle predicted route is equal to or less than the determination value, and deviates when the lap rate is greater than the determination value. Judge that there is no. The lap rate is the rate at which the vehicle prediction route overlaps the preceding vehicle. The lap rate is calculated from the vehicle predicted route calculated by the vehicle predicted route calculation unit 22 and the preceding vehicle information acquired from the front sensor 11. When the preceding vehicle is traveling in the predicted vehicle route, the lap rate is almost 100%, while when the preceding vehicle is traveling out of the predicted vehicle route, the lap rate is 0%. The determination value is preferably 95% to 50%, for example. In the present embodiment, the determination value is, for example, 75%. The lap rate may be a rate at which the preceding vehicle overlaps the own vehicle predicted route.

  The preceding vehicle route departure determination unit 31 includes the preceding vehicle information (the inter-vehicle distance from the own vehicle, the vehicle width direction with respect to the traveling direction of the own vehicle) regarding the preceding vehicle locked on by the preceding vehicle lock-on unit 23. Position), and the preceding vehicle route deviation determination is executed from the own vehicle predicted route acquired from the own vehicle predicted route calculation unit 22.

  An example will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, when the own vehicle Ma and the preceding vehicle Mb are traveling on a traveling lane of a substantially straight road (two lanes on one side), the preceding vehicle Mb deviates from the predicted vehicle A of the own vehicle Ma. The preceding vehicle departure position storage unit 32 determines that the preceding vehicle Mb has not deviated from the predicted vehicle route A because the lap rate is 100%.

  However, as shown in FIG. 4, when the preceding vehicle Mb preceding the same traveling lane with respect to the own vehicle Ma changes the lane, the preceding vehicle Mb deviates from the own vehicle predicted route A of the own vehicle Ma. Since the lap rate is 75%, the preceding vehicle departure position storage unit 32 determines that the preceding vehicle Mb has deviated from the predicted vehicle A.

  When the preceding vehicle route departure determining unit 31 determines that the preceding vehicle has deviated from the predicted vehicle route, the preceding vehicle departure position storage unit 32 uses the own vehicle position at the time of the determination as the reference position. In addition to storing, the position of the preceding vehicle at that time (first position of the preceding vehicle) is stored with reference to the reference position of the own vehicle.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the preceding vehicle Mb deviates from the own vehicle predicted route A of the own vehicle Ma at the time when it is determined that the vehicle has deviated (first time (time t0)). The position of the host vehicle Ma at the first time point is (X0, Y0). Y0 is the coordinate of the coordinate axis along the traveling direction of the host vehicle Ma (the full length direction of the vehicle), and X0 is the coordinate axis along the direction (vehicle width direction of the vehicle) orthogonal to the traveling direction of the host vehicle Ma. Coordinates. The position of the host vehicle Ma can be calculated by integrating the movement amounts in the X-axis and Y-axis directions calculated from the speed and yaw rate of the host vehicle Ma every unit time. Note that the X-axis and Y-axis directions are, for example, the vehicle width direction and the full length (front-rear) direction at the start of traveling. Alternatively, the position of the host vehicle Ma can be calculated from position information acquired from the GPS receiver 16 mounted on the host vehicle Ma. The preceding vehicle departure position storage unit 32 stores the first vehicle position in the storage device 15 in association with the first time point t0 with the vehicle position at the first time point as a reference position.

  The preceding vehicle departure position storage unit 32 calculates the position of the preceding vehicle Mb with respect to the reference position of the host vehicle Ma (relative position of the preceding vehicle) from the preceding vehicle information acquired from the front sensor 11 at the first time point. The relative position of the preceding vehicle Mb at the first time point is (LX0, LY0). Note that LY0 is a relative distance along the traveling direction of the host vehicle Ma, and LX0 is a relative distance along the vehicle width direction of the host vehicle Ma.

Furthermore, the preceding vehicle departure position storage unit 32 calculates the first position of the preceding vehicle Mb at the first time point and stores it in the storage device 15 in association with the time at the first time point. The first position of the preceding vehicle Mb at the first time point is obtained by adding the relative position (LX0, LY0) of the preceding vehicle Mb at the first time point to the position (X0, Y0) of the host vehicle Ma at the first time point. Calculated. That is, the first position of the preceding vehicle Mb at the first time point is (X0 + LX0, Y0 + LY0). The first position of the preceding vehicle Mb is calculated and stored for each control cycle, and the locus (traveling locus) of the preceding vehicle Mb is calculated from the first positions of the plurality of preceding vehicles Mb stored for each control cycle.
The own vehicle position and the preceding vehicle position are indicated by the coordinates of the gravity center positions of the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle.

  The vehicle width direction deviation calculating unit 33 determines a vehicle width direction deviation (vehicle width direction deviation ΔX) from the position of the preceding vehicle previously stored in the storage device 15 by the preceding vehicle departure position storage unit 32 and the position of the own vehicle. Is calculated. Specifically, the vehicle width direction deviation calculating unit 33 determines that the position of the preceding vehicle Mb has deviated and the position of the own vehicle Ma when the own vehicle Ma has traveled along the traveling direction to the point where the preceding vehicle Mb has deviated. The vehicle width direction deviation ΔX of the position reached is calculated.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 5, when the preceding vehicle Mb preceding the same traveling lane with respect to the own vehicle Ma changes lanes, the time when the own vehicle Ma reaches a point where the preceding vehicle Mb deviates. At (time t10), the position of the host vehicle Ma is (X10, Y10). The position of the host vehicle Ma is based on the travel start position (for example, (X0, Y0)), and the amount of movement in the X-axis and Y-axis directions calculated from the speed and yaw rate of the host vehicle Ma per unit time is integrated. It can be calculated by adding to the travel start position. Alternatively, the position of the host vehicle Ma can be calculated from position information acquired from the GPS receiver 16. The vehicle width direction deviation ΔX between the host vehicle Ma and the preceding vehicle Mb is | X10− (X0 + LX0) |. At this time, the preceding vehicle Mb is traveling in the overtaking lane adjacent to the traveling lane. The vehicle width direction deviation ΔX is preferably an absolute value of the difference in the vehicle width direction between the position coordinates of the host vehicle Ma and the preceding vehicle Mb.

  The comparison unit 34 compares the vehicle width direction deviation ΔX calculated by the vehicle width direction deviation calculation unit 33 with the determination value Xa. When the vehicle width direction deviation ΔX is equal to or less than the determination value Xa, the comparison unit 34 travels in the lane (the vehicle traveling lane when the preceding vehicle deviates) (the traveling in the lane). And the fact is transmitted to the preceding vehicle follow-up travel control unit 26. On the other hand, when the vehicle width direction deviation ΔX is larger than the determination value Xa, the comparison unit 34 determines that the preceding vehicle (or own vehicle) has changed the lane, and transmits the determination to the preceding vehicle search unit 21. . The determination value Xa is preferably set to 5 to 25% of the vehicle width (or the width of the predicted vehicle route). In the present embodiment, the determination value Xa is set to 20% of the vehicle width.

  The lost determination unit 25 determines the forward traveling vehicle including the preceding vehicle from the information on the forward traveling vehicle acquired from the preceding vehicle search unit 21 (the distance between the own vehicle, the relative position with respect to the own vehicle, the center position of the preceding vehicle, etc.). Determine if lost. That is, when the traveling vehicle cannot be captured in front of the host vehicle Ma, the lost determination unit 25 determines that the forward traveling vehicle is lost and transmits the fact to the preceding vehicle search unit 21. On the other hand, if the traveling vehicle can be captured in front of the host vehicle Ma, the lost determination unit 25 determines that the forward traveling vehicle is not lost and transmits the fact to the preceding vehicle follow-up traveling control unit 26. To do.

  The preceding vehicle follow-up travel control unit 26 controls the travel of the host vehicle so that the preceding vehicle locked on by the preceding vehicle lock-on unit 23 keeps a predetermined distance and follows the vehicle. The predetermined distance is a set inter-vehicle distance set by operating the operation unit 14. The preceding vehicle follow-up travel control unit 26 preferably controls the traveling of the host vehicle so that the predetermined distance between the preceding vehicle Mb and the host vehicle Ma is equal to or less than a predetermined value. The predetermined value is set to a value including a safety factor in a stop distance (= empty travel distance + braking distance) corresponding to the speed of the host vehicle Ma.

  The preceding vehicle follow-up travel control unit 26 controls the vehicle driving device 17 and / or the vehicle braking device 18 so that the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle acquired from the front sensor 11 becomes the set inter-vehicle distance. When the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle is shorter than the set inter-vehicle distance, the preceding vehicle follow-up travel control unit 26 controls the vehicle driving device 17 and / or the vehicle braking device 18 to decelerate the host vehicle and increase the inter-vehicle distance. On the other hand, when the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle is longer than the set inter-vehicle distance, the preceding vehicle follow-up travel control unit 26 controls the vehicle driving device 17 to accelerate the host vehicle and reduce the inter-vehicle distance.

  The own vehicle estimated route calculation unit 27 estimates and calculates a route calculated by connecting the preceding vehicle Mb and the own vehicle Ma with a predetermined curve as the own vehicle estimated route C that is a predicted route of the own vehicle Ma. The own vehicle estimated route calculation unit 27 calculates the own vehicle estimated route C by using an arc curve or a relaxation curve as a predetermined curve. An arc curve is a curve having a constant radius of curvature (curvature) in the curve section. The relaxation curve is a curve that gradually changes from a straight line (curvature radius R = ∞ or curvature k = 0) to the curvature of a predetermined arc curve.

  Specifically, the host vehicle estimated route calculation unit 27 calculates the current position of the host vehicle Ma by integrating the movement amounts in the X-axis and Y-axis directions calculated from the speed and yaw rate of the host vehicle Ma every unit time. To do. Alternatively, the host vehicle estimated route calculation unit 27 calculates the current position of the host vehicle Ma from position information acquired from the GPS receiver 16. The own vehicle estimated route calculation unit 27 obtains the position of the preceding vehicle Mb relative to the current position of the own vehicle Ma (the relative position of the preceding vehicle) from the front sensor 11 at the time when the current position of the own vehicle Ma is calculated. Calculate from The own vehicle estimated route calculation unit 27 calculates the current position of the preceding vehicle Mb from the current position of the own vehicle Ma and the relative position of the preceding vehicle Mb.

  The own vehicle estimated route calculation unit 27 calculates the own vehicle estimated route C from the current position of the own vehicle Ma, the current position of the preceding vehicle Mb, and a predetermined curve. Calculation of the own vehicle estimated route C when the predetermined curve is an arc curve will be described with reference to FIG. The center in the width direction of the host vehicle estimated route C is an arc curve. The center O of this circular arc curve is (X0-R, Y0), and the radius is R. The current position (X0, Y0) of the own vehicle Ma and the current position (X0 + LX0, Y0 + LY0) of the preceding vehicle Mb are located on this circular arc curve. sin θ = LY0 / R (Equation 1) and cos θ = (R−LX0) / R (Equation 2).

The following Equation 3 is calculated from Equation 1 and Equation 2.
(Equation 3)
(LY0 / R) ² + ((R−LX0) / R) ² = 1
Further, the radius R is calculated from Equation 3 as shown in Equation 4 below.
(Equation 4)
R = (LX0 ² + LY0 ² ) / 2LX0
The center O of the circular arc curve is (X0− (LX0 ² + LY0 ² ) / 2LX0, Y0), and the radius R is (LX0 ² + LY0 ² ) / 2LX0.

Also, when the predetermined curve is a clothoid curve, the own vehicle estimated route C is calculated from the current position of the own vehicle Ma, the current position of the preceding vehicle Mb, and the clothoid curve, as in the case where the predetermined curve is an arc curve. The For example, when the clothoid start point is the coordinate origin and the x-axis is taken in the tangential direction at the clothoid origin, the dimensionless coordinate (x, y) is expressed by the following equation 5 using the dimensionless curve length l. be able to. The above integration is known as Fresnel integration.

  The interrupt determination unit 28 determines whether or not the third vehicle Mc has interrupted between the preceding vehicle Mb locked by the preceding vehicle lock-on unit 23 and the host vehicle Ma. When the lap ratio in the vehicle width direction between the own vehicle estimated route C calculated by the own vehicle estimated route calculation unit 27 and the third vehicle Mc is larger than the determination value D, the interrupt determination unit 28 determines that the third vehicle Mc is the preceding vehicle. It determines with having interrupted between Mb and the own vehicle Ma. The lap rate is a ratio at which the own vehicle estimated route C overlaps with the third vehicle Mc. The lap rate is calculated from the own vehicle estimated route C calculated by the own vehicle predicted route calculation unit 22 and the information of the third vehicle Mc acquired from the front sensor 11. When the third vehicle Mc is traveling along the own vehicle estimated route C, the lap rate is almost 100%, while when the third vehicle Mc is traveling away from the own vehicle estimated route C, the lap rate is 0%. The determination value D is preferably several percent to 25%, for example. In the present embodiment, the determination value D is 5%, for example. The lap rate may be a rate at which the preceding vehicle overlaps the own vehicle predicted route.

  On the other hand, when the lap ratio in the vehicle width direction between the own vehicle estimated route C and the third vehicle Mc calculated by the own vehicle estimated route calculation unit 27 is equal to or less than the determination value D, the interrupt determination unit 28 determines that the third vehicle Mc Is determined not to interrupt between the preceding vehicle Mb and the host vehicle Ma. In other words, the interrupt determination unit 28 determines that the third vehicle Mc is traveling in the lane adjacent to the lane in which the host vehicle Ma is traveling (the host vehicle traveling lane).

  The preceding vehicle changing unit 29 changes the third vehicle Mc to a new preceding vehicle when the interrupt determining unit 28 determines that the third vehicle Mc has interrupted between the preceding vehicle Mb and the host vehicle Ma. The vehicle Mc is locked on as a preceding vehicle. The preceding vehicle changing unit 29 transmits to the preceding vehicle following traveling control unit 26 that the third vehicle Mc is locked on as the preceding vehicle.

Furthermore, the operation | movement by the vehicle control apparatus 20 mentioned above is demonstrated along the flowchart shown in FIG. The vehicle control device 20 executes a program according to the flowchart.
In step S102, the vehicle control device 20 searches for a preceding vehicle in the same manner as the preceding vehicle search unit 21 described above. Specifically, a forward traveling vehicle is searched based on the front information of the own vehicle acquired from the front sensor 11. A preceding vehicle is identified from among the vehicles traveling ahead.

  In step S104, the vehicle control device 20 predicts and calculates the travel route from the current vehicle position in the same manner as the vehicle predicted route calculation unit 22 described above. Specifically, the vehicle control device 20 calculates the own vehicle predicted route based on the own vehicle speed acquired from the vehicle speed sensor 12 and the own vehicle yaw rate acquired from the yaw rate sensor 13.

Next, similarly to the preceding vehicle lock-on unit 23 described above, the vehicle control device 20 includes information on the forward traveling vehicle searched in step S102 (the distance between the own vehicle, the relative position with respect to the own vehicle, the center position of the preceding vehicle). Etc.) and the information of the predicted vehicle route calculated in step S104, the vehicle traveling on the predicted vehicle route among the forward traveling vehicles is locked on as a preceding vehicle.
Specifically, in step S106, the vehicle control device 20 collates the information on the forward traveling vehicle with the information on the predicted vehicle route to determine whether the forward traveling vehicle is traveling in the predicted vehicle route. Determine. When the forward traveling vehicle is traveling in the own vehicle predicted route, the vehicle control device 20 determines “YES” in step S106 and selects the preceding traveling vehicle that travels in the own vehicle predicted route. Is locked on (step S108). On the other hand, when the forward traveling vehicle is not traveling in the own vehicle predicted route (for example, when the forward traveling vehicle is traveling in the lane adjacent to the own vehicle traveling lane), the vehicle control device 20 determines that “ It is determined as “NO”, and the lock-on for the preceding vehicle is not performed (step S128).

  In step S108, the vehicle control device 20 locks on the preceding vehicle and, like the above-described preceding vehicle follow-up travel control unit 26, keeps a predetermined distance with respect to the preceding vehicle that has been locked on. To control the driving of the vehicle. In addition, when the preceding vehicle is not locked on in step S128, the vehicle control device 20 stops the preceding vehicle follow-up control and automatically keeps the speed of the host vehicle Ma at the set speed (set speed). Perform cruise control to control the driving of the car.

  In step S110, the vehicle control device 20, like the lane change determination unit 24 described above, locks on the preceding vehicle locked on by the preceding vehicle lock-on unit 23 or the host vehicle locked on by the preceding vehicle lock-on unit 23. It is determined whether has changed lanes. In step S112, the vehicle control device 20 determines whether or not the forward traveling vehicle including the preceding vehicle has been lost from the information on the preceding traveling vehicle acquired from the preceding vehicle search unit 21 in the same manner as the lost determination unit 25 described above. To do.

  When the preceding vehicle Mb or the host vehicle Ma changes lanes or loses the preceding vehicle Mb, the vehicle control device 20 determines “YES” in step S110 or step S112, and locks on the preceding vehicle. No (step S128). On the other hand, when the preceding vehicle Mb or the host vehicle Ma does not change the lane and the preceding vehicle Mb is not lost, the vehicle control device 20 determines “NO” in steps S110 and 112, and the program is executed after step S114. Then, it is determined whether or not the third vehicle Mc is interrupted between the preceding vehicle Mb and the host vehicle Ma.

  In step S114, the vehicle control device 20 uses the predicted route of the host vehicle Ma as a route calculated by connecting the preceding vehicle Mb and the host vehicle Ma with a predetermined curve in the same manner as the host vehicle estimated route calculation unit 27 described above. It is estimated and calculated as a certain own vehicle estimated route C. In step S116, the vehicle control device 20 determines whether or not a traveling vehicle other than the preceding vehicle Mb is to be captured in front of the host vehicle Ma. That is, the vehicle control device 20 determines whether there is a traveling vehicle other than the preceding vehicle Mb from the front information acquired from the front sensor 11.

  When a traveling vehicle other than the preceding vehicle Mb is not captured in front of the own vehicle Ma, the vehicle control device 20 determines “NO” in step S116, and the third vehicle Mc is between the preceding vehicle Mb and the own vehicle Ma. It is determined that there is no interruption (step S130). Thereafter, the vehicle control device 20 returns the program to step S106. On the other hand, when a traveling vehicle other than the preceding vehicle Mb is captured in front of the host vehicle Ma, the vehicle control device 20 determines “YES” in step S116, and advances the program to step S118.

  In step S118 and subsequent steps, the vehicle control device 20 interrupts the third vehicle Mc between the preceding vehicle Mb locked by the preceding vehicle lock-on unit 23 and the host vehicle Ma, similarly to the interrupt determination unit 28 described above. It is determined whether or not. In step S118, the vehicle control device 20 calculates the lap ratio in the vehicle width direction between the own vehicle estimated route C calculated by the own vehicle estimated route calculation unit 27 and the third vehicle Mc. In step S120, the vehicle control device 20 determines whether or not the lap ratio in the vehicle width direction between the host vehicle estimated route C calculated in step S118 and the third vehicle Mc is greater than the determination value D.

As shown in FIG. 8, when the lap ratio in the vehicle width direction between the own vehicle estimated route C and the third vehicle Mc is equal to or less than the determination value D, the vehicle control device 20 determines “NO” in step S120. Then, it is determined that there is no interruption of the third vehicle Mc between the preceding vehicle Mb and the host vehicle Ma (step S130).
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, when the lap rate in the vehicle width direction between the own vehicle estimated route C and the third vehicle Mc is larger than the determination value D, the vehicle control device 20 determines “YES” in step S120. Then, it is determined that the third vehicle Mc is interrupted between the preceding vehicle Mb and the host vehicle Ma (step S122). Thereafter, the vehicle control device 20 changes the third vehicle Mc to a new preceding vehicle and locks on the third vehicle Mc as the preceding vehicle, similarly to the preceding vehicle changing unit 29 described above (step S124). Note that the vehicle control device 20 releases the lock-on for the preceding vehicle that has been locked on until now. Thereafter, the vehicle control device 20 advances the program to step S126, and temporarily stops this flowchart.

  Furthermore, a case where the host vehicle travel lane changes from a straight road to a curved road (left curve in the present embodiment) will be described. A case where the third vehicle Mc is not interrupted when the preceding vehicle Mb and the host vehicle Ma travel along the host vehicle traveling lane of the host vehicle Ma will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the preceding vehicle Mb has just entered the curved road from the straight road. The own vehicle Ma performs a preceding vehicle follow-up traveling with respect to the preceding vehicle Mb that is locked on. The inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle Mb and the host vehicle Ma is the set inter-vehicle distance LY.

  As shown in FIG. 8, when the preceding vehicle Mb that is locked on turns along a curved road (own vehicle lane), the vehicle control device 20 estimates and calculates the own vehicle estimated route C (step S114). . The lane in which the preceding vehicle Mb travels remains the same lane as the own vehicle Ma. The own vehicle estimated route C is a curve (in this case, an arc curve) along the own vehicle traveling lane of the own vehicle Ma. When the third vehicle Mc is traveling in the lane adjacent to the own vehicle travel lane, the lap ratio in the vehicle width direction between the own vehicle estimated route C and the third vehicle Mc is 0 and is equal to or less than the determination value D. Therefore, the vehicle control device 20 determines that there is no interruption of the third vehicle Mc between the preceding vehicle Mb and the host vehicle Ma (step S130).

  In contrast, when the vehicle control apparatus 20 calculates the own vehicle predicted route A by the own vehicle predicted route calculation unit 22 without estimating and calculating as the own vehicle estimated route C, the vehicle control device 20 sets the next lane next to the own vehicle traveling lane. Even if the third vehicle Mc is traveling, the lap ratio in the vehicle width direction between the own vehicle predicted route A and the third vehicle Mc is larger than the determination value D. Therefore, the vehicle control device 20 determines that there is an interruption of the third vehicle Mc between the preceding vehicle Mb and the host vehicle Ma (error determination).

  Next, a case where the third vehicle Mc interrupts when the preceding vehicle Mb and the host vehicle Ma travel along the host vehicle traveling lane of the host vehicle Ma will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, the preceding vehicle Mb has just entered a curved road from a straight road. The own vehicle Ma performs a preceding vehicle follow-up traveling with respect to the preceding vehicle Mb that is locked on. The inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle Mb and the host vehicle Ma is the set inter-vehicle distance LY.

  As shown in FIG. 9, when the preceding vehicle Mb that is locked on turns along a curved road (own vehicle lane), the vehicle control device 20 estimates and calculates the own vehicle estimated route C (step S114). . The lane in which the preceding vehicle Mb travels remains the same lane as the own vehicle Ma. The own vehicle estimated route C is a curve (in this case, an arc curve) along the own vehicle traveling lane of the own vehicle Ma. When the third vehicle Mc traveling in the lane adjacent to the own vehicle traveling lane has changed to the own vehicle traveling lane, the lap ratio in the vehicle width direction between the own vehicle estimated route C and the third vehicle Mc is large. It becomes larger than the judgment value D. Therefore, the vehicle control device 20 determines that there is an interruption of the third vehicle Mc between the preceding vehicle Mb and the host vehicle Ma (step S122).

  As is clear from the above description, the host vehicle estimated route calculation unit 27 of the vehicle control device 20 according to the present embodiment calculates the host vehicle estimated route C from each position of the preceding vehicle Mb and the host vehicle Ma currently recognized. It can be estimated with high accuracy. Further, the interrupt determination unit 28 accurately detects that the third vehicle Mc has interrupted between the preceding vehicle Mb and the own vehicle Ma from the own vehicle estimated route C and the third vehicle Mc estimated (calculated) with high accuracy. Can be determined. Therefore, the vehicle control device 20 can accurately and reliably recognize the third vehicle Mc that has entered the host vehicle lane as a new preceding vehicle.

  In addition, when the own vehicle Ma is traveling along the straight portion but the preceding vehicle Mb enters the curved portion ahead of the straight portion, both the own vehicle Ma and the preceding vehicle Mb are curved. The vehicle estimated route C is accurately estimated from the positions of the preceding vehicle Mb and the vehicle Ma that are currently recognized, such as when the curvature of each curved portion of the traveling point is different. Can do.

In the vehicle control device 20 according to the present embodiment, the host vehicle estimated route calculation unit 27 calculates the host vehicle estimated route C using an arc curve or a relaxation curve as a predetermined curve.
According to this, when the rudder angle of the vehicle is large, an arc curve is adopted, and when the rudder angle of the vehicle is small, a relaxation curve is adopted, so that the own vehicle estimated route is appropriately set according to the rudder angle of the vehicle. C can be calculated.

In the vehicle control device 20 according to the present embodiment, the preceding vehicle follow-up travel control unit 26 controls the traveling of the host vehicle Ma such that a predetermined distance between the preceding vehicle Mb and the host vehicle Ma is equal to or less than a predetermined value.
According to this, the traveling of the host vehicle Ma is controlled so that the predetermined distance between the preceding vehicle Mb and the host vehicle Ma is equal to or less than a predetermined value. When Mb enters the curved portion ahead of the straight line portion, both the own vehicle Ma and the preceding vehicle Mb travel along the curved portion, but the curvature of each curved portion at the traveling point is different. Misalignment between Ma's future travel locus and the preceding vehicle Mb can be reduced.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Front sensor, 12 ... Vehicle speed sensor, 13 ... Yaw rate sensor, 14 ... Operation part, 15 ... Memory | storage device, 16 ... GPS receiver, 17 ... Vehicle drive device, 18 ... Vehicle brake device, 20 ... Vehicle control device, 21 ... preceding vehicle search unit, 22 ... own vehicle predicted route calculation unit, 23 ... preceding vehicle lock-on unit, 24 ... lane change determination unit, 25 ... lost determination unit, 26 ... preceding vehicle follow-up travel control unit, 27 ... own vehicle estimation Route calculating unit 28 ... Interrupt determining unit 29 ... Leading vehicle changing unit 31 ... Leading vehicle route departure determining unit 32 ... Leading vehicle departure position storage unit 33 ... Vehicle width direction deviation calculating unit 34 ... Comparison unit A ... own vehicle predicted route, C ... own vehicle estimated route, M ... vehicle, Ma ... own vehicle, Mb ... preceding vehicle, Mc ... third vehicle.

Claims (3)

A preceding vehicle lock-on unit that locks on a vehicle traveling in front of the vehicle as a preceding vehicle;
A preceding vehicle follow-up travel control unit that controls the travel of the host vehicle so as to follow and travel a predetermined distance with respect to the preceding vehicle locked on by the preceding vehicle lock-on unit;
An interrupt determination unit that determines whether a third vehicle has interrupted between the preceding vehicle and the host vehicle that are locked on by the preceding vehicle lock-on unit,
A vehicle estimated route calculation unit that estimates and calculates a route calculated by connecting the preceding vehicle and the vehicle with a predetermined curve as a vehicle estimated route that is a predicted route of the vehicle;
When the lap ratio in the vehicle width direction between the host vehicle estimated route calculated by the host vehicle estimated route calculation unit and the third vehicle is greater than a determination value, the interrupt determination unit determines that the third vehicle is the preceding vehicle. And a vehicle control device for determining that the vehicle has been interrupted.   The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the own vehicle estimated route calculation unit calculates the own vehicle estimated route by adopting an arc curve or a relaxation curve as the predetermined curve.   3. The preceding vehicle follow-up travel control unit controls the travel of the host vehicle so that the predetermined distance between the preceding vehicle and the host vehicle is a predetermined value or less. Vehicle control device.

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